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MACHECOUL. 



MADAGASCAR. 



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The chapel of the Treasury ia remarkable for the frescoes of its roof, 

 •which represent the leadiDg events in the life of the Blessed Viigin. 

 The treasury contains a rich collection of costly offerini!B. 



Rfcanati, i miles S.W. from Loreto, on the Musone, near the 

 Adriatic, has 4050 inhabitants, a cathedral and several other churches, 

 convents, and some fine palaces. There is an aqueduct from Recanati 

 to Loreto for the water supply of the latter.city. Tolenlino, farther 

 inland, on the left bank of the Chienti, near the foot of the Apennines, 

 has 94.37 inhabitants and an interesting cathedral. By the treaty of 

 Tolentino (1797) the Pope ceded the Romagna to the French. Came- 

 rtno, the ancient Camerinum, is an old town among the Apennines, and a 

 bishop's see, with 5500 inhabitants, a cathedral, a university, several 

 diarohes and convents, and some silk-factories. Camerino has been 

 noently made the capital of a separate delegation, which comprises 

 811 square miles of the area, and 38,415 of the population given 

 above. Pabriano, farther north, is a bishop's see, with 7000 inhabitants, 

 manufactories of paper and parchment, and a oonsiderable trade in 

 wool San Severino has 3000 inhabitants. Maidica, ia an old walled 

 town, with 3000 inhabitants. 



MACHECOUL. [LoiRE-lNFfeMEURB.] 



MACHYNLLETH, Montgomeryshire, a market-town, parliamentary 

 borough, and the seat of a Poor- Law Union, in the parish of Machyn- 

 lleth, is situated in 52° 35' N. lat., 3" 51' W. long., distant 35 miles 

 W. from Montgomery, and 205 miles W.N.W. from London. The 

 population of the borough in 1851 was 1673; it forms one of 

 the Montgomery district of boroughs in returning a member to the 

 Imperial Parhament. The living is a rectory in the archdeaconry of 

 Montgomery and diocese of St. Asaph. Machynlleth Poor-Law 

 Union contains 11 parishes and townships, with an area of 116,647 

 acres, and a population in 1851 of 12,118. 



The town is near the confluence of the Dulaa with the Dovey. It 

 is neatly and regularly built, and consists chiefly of two princiinl streets, 

 which are wide, and contain some good houses. There is a plain 

 town-hall and maAet-house. The ancient building in which Owen 

 Qlyndwr held the parliament or assembly of the chief men of Wales 

 in 1402, by which his title to the principality was formally acknow- 

 ledged, is still standing, but is converted to private use. The church, 

 dedicated to St Peter, was rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, 

 in 1827. The Wesleyan and Calviniatic MetbocQsts, Independents, 

 and Baptists have places of worship ; and there is a large National 

 ■ehooL The chief manufacture of the town and neighbotirhood is 

 that of ' webs,' or coarse woollen cloths and coarse flannels. Tanning 

 is carried on. Lead-ore is found in the neighbourhood, and slate is 

 quarried. Salmon-trout and sewin are taken in the river Dovey, and 

 during the season Machynlleth is much resorted to by anglers. The 

 market is held on Wednesday, and there are six fairs in the year. 

 MACKENZIE RIVER. [Huueos's Bat Territobies.] 

 MACON, an ancient town in France, occupies the site of Matiteo, 

 one of the towns of the .lEdui, mentioned by Cssar (' De Bell. GalL,' 

 vil 90). It is mentioned in the ' Itinerary ' of Antoninus, and in the 

 ' Notitia Imperii ' (in which latter it ia designated Castrum), and is 

 notic^ for the manufacture of arrows. It suffisred much from Attila. 

 It passed into the hands of the Burgundians and the Franks ; was 

 included in the kingdom of Bourgogne under Boson, and in the duchy 

 of Bourgogne under the later dukes. It was much injured in the 

 religious wnrs of the 1 6th century. Before the first French Revolution 

 it was a bishop's see. 



TA&eon, now the capital of the French department of 3adne-et-Loire, 

 is situated on the right bank of the Sa6ne, in 46° 18' 24' N. lat, 

 4° 50' 18" £. long., at an elevation of 6Q5 feet above the sea; 275 

 miles 8.S.E. by railway from Paris, 41 miles N. from Lyon, and has 

 12,653 inhabitants in the commune. The town stands on the slope 

 and at the foot of a hill above the Sa6ne, along the bank of which 

 there is a noble quay, commanding a distant view of the Alps. A 

 green island occupies the centre of the stream opposite to the quay ; 

 and an ancient bridge of twelve arches connects the town with the 

 suburb of St-Laarent on the other side of the river, in the depart- 

 ment of Ain. The streets of MAoon are crooked, narrow, and ill-paved : 

 the houses are of stone, and substantially built The ramparts of the 

 town have been demolished and their site laid out in promenades. 

 The former cathedral was ruined in the first Revolution, but the 

 epifcopal palace escaped, and is now used for the prefect's residence. 

 The chief public buildings are — the town-hall, which contains a 

 theatre and public library; the general hospital, on the parade; 

 the church of St-Vincent ; and the prison. Among the Roman 

 antiquities are a triumphal arch and the ruins of a temple of Janus. 

 The inhabitants carry on a coneiclerable trade in the excellent wines 

 of the district, com, hoops, staves, cattle, &c. There are manufac- 

 tures of blankets, leather, earthenware, clocks, and watches. Mftcon 

 is the seat of tribunals of first instance and of commerce ; it has also 

 a college, and a primary normal schooL 



MAcon hod in the middle ages counts of its own. Their county 

 constituted the district of the Mftconnais, which nearly coincided with 

 the present arrondissement of MAcon, St. Louis purchased the 

 county and unite<l it to the domains of the crown. [Bourqoosb.] 

 (iHctionnaire de la France, Antiuaire pour FAn 1863.) 

 MACON. [Oeokoia, U.S.] 

 MACQUARIE RIVER. (Skw South Walks.] 



MACROOM, county of Cork, Ireland, a post and market-town, and 

 the seat of a Poor-Law Union, is situated on the river SuUane, and 

 on the road from Cork to Killarney, in 51° 55' N. lat, 8° 55' W. long., 

 distant by road 24^ mile« W. from Cork, and 1824 luiles S.W. by S, 

 from Dublin. The population iu 1851 was 3727, besides 2121 in the 

 workhouse. Macroom Poor-Law Union comprises 25 electoral divi- 

 sions, with an area of 179,108 acres, and a population in 1851 of 

 37,394. The town consists principally of one street nearly a mile in 

 length, occupied in great part by cabins and other meau dwellings. 

 Near the centre are some good houses and shops. The parish church, 

 the Roman Catholic chapel, the sessions-house and bridewell, and a 

 market-house, the dispensary, and the Union workhouse are the public 

 edifices. Petty-sessions are held monthly. Fairs are held on the 

 12th day of May, July, September, and November. There is a large 

 weekly market. Macroom Castle ia a fine old structure overhanging 

 the river. 



MADAGASCAR (called by the natives Madecasse), a large island 

 in the ludian Sea, about 240 miles from the const of Mozambique on 

 the eastern shores of Africa, extends from 12° to 25° 45' S. lat., and 

 between 43° and 51° E. long. From north to south, between Cape 

 Ambr^, and Cape St. Mary, it is 960 miles long, with a width varying 

 from 200 to 500 miles ; it is estimated to cover a surface of 225,000 

 square miles, or somewhat more than the extent of France. The 

 most eastern and western poiuta of the island are Cape East and Cape 

 St Felix resjiectively. It is separated from the continent of Africa 

 by the Channel of Mozambique. 



The eastern coast runs in the direction of north by east, and nearly 

 in a straight line, being indented only by the bay of Antongil, which 

 runt up into the island to the west of Cape BaUlrick, and Cape East. 

 The western side of the Island has a much more sinuous outline; the 

 part of the coast that faces the north-west, between Cape Ambr^ and 

 Cape St Andrew, presents several small inlets — Chimpaiki, Narinda, 

 Majambo, and Bemlntooka ; on the southern part, between the Cral> 

 Islands and the Barracouta Islands, are Murderers Bay and the Bay 

 of St Augustine. Cape St. Andrew is nearly in 16° S. lat. ; between 

 it and Mozambique Island the Channel of Mozambique is narrowest, 

 being about 24U miles across. The Comoro Isles, and near the 

 African coast the Querimba Islands, lie at the northern entrance of 

 the channel, in which are numerous small islets ; of these we can only 

 name the Juan-de-Nova Islands in its narrowest part, and Europa 

 Island opposite Murderers Bay, and near 40° E. long. The most im- 

 portant island on the eastern coast is that of St Mary, which lies 

 south of Antongil Bay, and is occupied by the French. 



A mountain range traverses Madagascar in its whole length ; some of 

 the summits rise to an elevation of 10,000 or 12,000 feet The eastern 

 and western slopes of this range are furrowed by numerous rivers, many 

 of which traverse lakes and form cascades in the upper part of their 

 course. Its offsets cover the greater part of the interior, and in some 

 plaoes approach to the very shores of the sea, especially in the north 

 between Cape Paosadava and Cape Ambr^, where the stupendous 

 peak of Matowla raises its head not far from the shore, and also near 

 Cape St Andrew on the west ooast. But between Cape St. Andrew 

 and Cape Passadava a low matahy plain, crossed by several rivers, 

 extends along the shore and runs 60 or 80 miles inland. The bays, 

 harbour*, and rivers which indent this part of the coast, and which 

 are mentioned above, are admirably adapted for commerce, but they 

 are all neglected, with the exception of Bembatooka. The eastern 

 coast is high and rocky from Cape Ambr^ to the bay of Antongil, one 

 of the most spacious harbours of the Indian Sea. South of this bay 

 the shores are low and swampy to a distance inland varying from 10 

 to 40 miles, and extremely unhealthy. In the interior the country 

 in many places contains extensive plains, which are excellent pasture- 

 ground, and frequently possess a soil adapted to all kinds of tropical 

 plants. 



At the entrance of St. Augustine Bay is Sandy Island (23° 39' 

 S. lat, 44° E. long.). Onglahy River falls into the head of the bay. 

 Sliips anchor here for provisions, refreshments, and barter. Large 

 fat bullocks (with a hump), sheep, and goats are obtained for European 

 articles, such as gunpowder, brass-naila, looking-glasses, muskets, 

 kettles, scissors, glass and coral beads, &c. Pumpkins, yams, sweet- 

 potatoes, limes, oranges, and other fruit may be had here. Fish are 

 abundant Good Water is got 4 or 5 miles up the river, which is 

 infested with alligators. 



Bembatooka Bay, on the western coast, is the aistuary of several 

 rivers. It is 17 miles long and 8^ miles wide at the entrance (15° 43' 

 S. lat, 46° 28' E. Itrng.), but inside it is nearly 8 miles wide. Under 

 Bembatooka Pouit, to the north of Bembatooka town, ships may lie 

 land-locked and sheltered from all winds. This bay is considered to 

 be very eligible as a commercial station, its shores being healthy and 

 easy of access. Prime bullocks are very numerous and cheap, and 

 salt-beef might be prepared in any quantity ; wild pigs abound, and 

 rice is grown extensively. The French buy bullocks here, and have 

 them driven to Fort Dauphin, on Antongil Boy, where salt provisions for 

 their navy aud for colonial consumption are cured. The Arabs of 

 Mascat frequent this port. Slaves are an article of trade. Bembatooka 

 itself is a village, but ifajavga, on the north side of the l>ay, is a 

 lai'ge town, and the harbour of Thanaan-arive, the capital of the 

 Orahs, the most powerful, industrious, and dviUaed nation of the 



